I am a Coupon Goddess, ask me anything.

[demgurl]

Go ahead and test me. I can tell you anything about couponing!

[philosophie_en_rose]

1. Can you use a store coupon with a manufacturer's coupon?

???

[demgurl]

3. It depends on the store....

Especially if it is Walmart! But at 99% of the stores, yes you can.

[TlalocW]

2. Let's just see how much of a coupon goddes you are... SHALL WE?

:)

Let's see how you compare to my sister, the family coupon queen.

She routinely pays absolutely nothing or is owed money when she goes to stores and buys groceries.

I haven't had to buy toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, or soap for years because there's always a big supply of it waiting for her three siblings whenever we get together.

She was supplying some woman who had had triplets in another city hundreds of miles from her with diapers that she was able to buy for next to nothing. She didn't know the woman.

While driving, she keeps her eyes on the side of the road for Doritos bags, cigarette packages, etc. that she needs to collect so she can get free stuff from companies.

She networks with other coupon queens to trade labels of various products to get the aforementioned free stuff - trading X number of Quaker Oats boxes for Y number of Snapple labels.

Speaking of Snapple, she got me a really snazzy jacket/coat one year in college that I wore for several years. I liked the design and feel of it so much that when I needed a new coat a couple years ago, I bought the same style. It just doesn't have "Snapple" in big letters stitched on the back.

Top that... If you can! Bum bum bummmmmmm! :)

[demgurl]

4. Well you can go to my site and see what kind of Goddess I am.....

http://home.triad.rr.com/coupon/

I rarely if ever pay for items either. When I do, it is usually because I supplement couponing with mystery shopping and they force me to buy items and I get reimbursed!

The pix you will se on my site are old ones. My stockpile has grown so much more. I have over 300 bottles of juice alone! And, of course, the regular stuff like toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc.....

Did I do well? Or am I falling short?

[TlalocW]

6. I don't know...

If my sister ever finds out about you, she'll probably challenge you to a cage match because... there can be only one. :)

TlalocW

[demgurl]

7. I do help friends and such.

I supply my family and friends with food whenever possible. Just gave to the animal shelter as well as the food bank. I got paid to take the cat food and the shelter got the benefit! So I can understand where your sister is coming from helping all those people.

Does she 'do' wine tags? I know those are controversial but there are tons around here.

[TlalocW]

8. I have no idea

What wine tags are. We can't keep up with her, and everything she does. You and she are to be admired though just for the effort you put in to beat the system and whatnot. :)

TlalocW

[demgurl]

9. Thanks, I try.....

It does take a big amount of effort at first but you kind of get into a system. Is she a democrat as well?

[TlalocW]

11. Pretty much

I'm the most political of my siblings. That sister is my oldest. She's a democrat. The sister two years younger than she is a pretty conservative republican, but fortunately, we're able to put politics aside, and I think every now and then I get through to her. Although once, years ago, she actually "told on me" to mom because I'm pro-choice. Mom looked at her and said, "He's 22-years-old. What are you doing telling on him? I raised all you kids to think for yourselves anyway!" :) My older brother is probably fiscally conservative but socially liberal.

TlalocW

[demgurl]

5. Oh! And I dumpster dive also!

[testing123]

10. I have the same addiction

I love the buy one get one free week at Jewels.

Dole single fruit bowls.

(16 bowls) 2 for $1.00 with a $1.00 coupon off on 2 = FREE

Gourmet Sweet Relish

(10 jars)2 for $1.15 with a 55 cent off coupon on each jar=$.5 cents for both

Heinz 24 oz Bottle of Ketchup

Buy one get one free with a $1.00 off = .35 cents per bottle

Hamburger Helper & Tuna Helper

Buy one get one free with a $1.50 on two plus a free pound of hamburger.

Good Humor Ice Cream bars

Buy one get one free and I had a coupon if you bought two you got another one free so I got 3 boxes for the price of one.

I can go on and on.

Two months ago I picked up $237.80 worth of groceries and my bill went $32.68.

Bam!!

[demgurl]

12. WTG! You did very well!

Don't you love it when you get a good deal? Hope your family appreciates you.

[testing123]

13. I love it and what I don't use I will give it to people that need it

I love your website and I bookmarked it. I think that you should write a book.

I started couponing when I watched a show with Nancy ? on it that later on wrote the series of books called the tightwad gazette.
I sat watching her and her husband with my jaw opened and plenty of ideas planted in my head about the way I should live and how to save.

I was addicted after watching her and her husband.

[demgurl]

14. Thanks, you are too kind.

I would love to write a book but things are different in different parts of the country. You know, you hear about the stuff at first and think it is a fluke and you could never do that sort of thing. Then you try it and you see that it can be done. It is so amazing.

[testing123]

17. With the Bush economy people could use your ideas

I applaud you for dumpster diving that takes nerve.

I went to visit a friend out east and he took me to a flea market and you could tell that a high percentage of the stuff that they were selling was dumpster dived. The prices that they charged was out of this world and close to retail which pissed me off because they got the stuff for free and they could have at least offered a discount in the rural area. The people were lower middle class to barely scraping by and it hurt me to see them being charged high prices for stuff that was out of date.

I would have given them a break and taken what was left over to the shelters in the area.

[demgurl]

25. Yeah, it does take alot of nerve.....

But I am really driven if there is a hot coupon for a sale. It is not dirty at all. I just go to the recycling bins and jump right in. I have left a dumpster with bags of coupons. Very cool.

[demgurl]

15. Thanks, you are too kind.

I would love to write a book but things are different in different parts of the country. It is hard to writea book to cover teh whole country.

When you read about the deals and totals, at first, you think it is a fluke and you could never do that sort of thing. Then you try it and you see that it can be done. It is so amazing.

[rumguy]

16. I need to get into the coupon thing

What's the best way to start?

Do really save money, or is it just a rat-race to get you into certain stores?

[testing123]

18. Sunday Papers

What state do you live in?

[demgurl]

24. NC

[demgurl]

20. It is real and you can save a lot depending on where you live.

The best way you can start out is to have a look at my site. If that is too much info to start out, you can always visit some of the coupon boards. There are two forums I would recommend. One is www.mycoupons.com and the other is www.fatwallet.com Both are really great and have some very helpful folks. I also am always glad to help folks out.

[rumguy]

28. I saw your site and put it in my favorites for later study

[testing123]

19. Do you have a double coupon grocery store in your area?

I envy people that do.

[demgurl]

22. Yep - doubles and triples!

Are you in the land of no doubles - Florida?

[testing123]

26. I am in Illinois

Land of the no doubles or triples.

I envy you!

[mzmolly]

21. I am terrible at clipping coupons. Please help!

:hi:

I bookmarked your site thanks. Any quick tips are appreciated!

[demgurl]

23. Jeepers there are so many places to start......

Get coupons wherever you can. Friends, carriers, etc......

Be prepared to put in more time at first. You will get used to what you have to cut out, what will be hot, what you can trade.

You can always buy full inserts. Actually, it is illegal to sell coupons, so you will but people's time. Check out some of the sites named above and you can find folks who will sell full ones. They go for about $.10 an insert.

Don't overwhelm yourself at first or you will just drop out. Try to start a yahoo couponing group for your state.

Does this help? Ask away if you have any more questions. I am ALWAYS happy to help.

[testing123]

27. Do you follow the don't clip what you can't use rule?

Sometimes I do and then I kick myself when I see the product go on sale and I could have gotten it for a few pennies on a dollar.

If I don't use it I could take it to a shelter or Church.

[demgurl]

32. At first I clipped everything and use the binder method.

I waited until everything was clearanced, after all the kids went back to school, and I bought a VERY cheap zipper binder. I bought baseball card sheets from the dollar store and put them in. I also had a soft plastic pencil case with holes that attach to a binder. I put a calculator, scissors and a pen in the pencil case. I cut all of my coupons and divided them into categories in the baseball sheets. When you can see all of your coupons, you will not miss any and you will be able to make full use of them.

Eventually I started doing so much couponing (about 100-150 sets of inserts a week) that I just had to cut back. I also had to find a new way to cut my coupons. I bought a rotary cutter at Walmart. This thing is very sharp and will cut through about 50-60 sets of inserts at a time. I also bought a self healing mat so that I would have something to put under the coupons. You do not want to tear up your furniture. Always retract the blade on the rotary cutter, especially if you have kids.

It got kind of hard to have weeks and weeks worth of coupons and, on average, 125 of each one. I finally had to make my methods more efficient. At this point I decided to only cut the ones I knew would be free or cheap. I had enough of a stockpile anyway that I only needed to round out my supply. My husband has quarantined me to two rooms and three freezers. Everything is totally full. In fact, I am also using one of my sister-in-law's freezers as well as my mother-in-law!

Now I have gotten to a point that I can not fit anything more in. We are just filled to the brim. So, now what I do is I order coupons from services. I only need things to fill out my stockpile so I only need to order maybe 50-100 each time. I sometimes order them when the new coupons come out and sometimes for a sale.

I also get my coupons from stores. Yesterday I got a ton of yogurt coupons off a store display. The yogurt was on sale and I brought home 30 containers of Dannon yogurt for tax only! I used some coupons that I got from a service and I got 30 cans of Van Camps Pork and Beans. I got 2 packs of Dannon XL drinkable yogurt. 12 bottles of Stoneyfield drinkable yogurt, 2 packs of strawberries, a bag of chex mix and I paid $.57. So this method still works well for me.

My use of coupons kind of evolved with my needs and how much time and room I have. Starting off, I would clip everything. Now I see a coupon and I just sort of know.

[testing123]

29. Have you been to this website?

http://www.thecouponmaster.com/

[demgurl]

33. Nope, never even heard of it!

I know of two services that are only two states away and I can get stuff very quickly if I need to that way. I also have two couponing groups for my state. One of them is my yahoo group. The other is just a list that I email to several times a week. These are folks who are professional couponers. We all share inside tips and coupons when needed. It is very cool. But thank you, it is always nice to see sites I have not seen before. That is cool.

[richmwill]

30. Maybe not "coupons", but...

Are the "in-house" brands worthwhile? I always see them on sale in the supermarkets for much less than the comparable brand-names, but have been hesitant to buy due to worries about quality, taste, etc. Are they ok though?

[testing123]

31. If you can get a coupon for the name brands why buy generic

I don't think that I have one generic brand product in my house because they cost more then what you can get with a coupon.

[demgurl]

34. It depends.....

We have tried store brands and hated them and then there is one store chain that we have tried and it matches any brand I have ever tasted! You may want to try one can and see if you like it. Try it the first day of the sale so that you have plenty of time to go back and get more for yourself. You want to buy enough (if it is a good deal) to get you through 6-8 weeks. Why? Because sales are cyclical in stores. The same product goes on sale about every 6-8 weeks.

Here is a hypothetical cost analysis (with coupons!)

Green Giant Canned Corn $.79 - $.35 coupon doubled = .09/can
You eat about 4 cans a week 4 x $.09 = $.36 (4 cans)
You want it to last about 8 weeks $.36 x 8 = $2.88 (32 cans)

Regular price:
Green Giant $.79 x 32 (8 week supply) = 25.28

That is a $22.40 difference and that is on one product alone and only for 8 weeks out of the year. This means you could save a $150 a year on corn alone. You can see how the savings can really start to add up.

I can get the real brands much cheaper than the generic - at least with coupons I can, so that is what I usually do. But store brands can be OK, just give them a quick try at first. Also, make note of your store's policy. Some stores will give you your money back if you do not like their brand. One, in my area, will replace it with a name brand and give you your money back!

[testing123]

37. I wish that you lived near me

My mind works like a calculator when it comes to saving.

When my company cut our jobs I had enough money to live on for 1 year because of the money that I saved couponing.

What I am afraid of now is with the Bush economy tons of people need your ideas and I think that you should WRITE A BOOK...You great at this!

[richmwill]

38. Damn...

You really are a Coupon Goddess :)

[bearfan454]

35. Did you know if you get coupons from coolsavings.com

they use your computer as a server and email all over the world from your computer ? Did you know that one ?

[demgurl]

36. Sadly, I shall have to give back my Goddess card....

I did not know that one! BUT I did know that after a HUGE fraud about a year back, most stores do not accept printed internet coupons and so I do not print them anyway!

A few years ago people basically printed up and coipied a bunch of freebie coupons and some store chains actually got taken for MILLIONS of dollars! I thought the coupons looked fake so I stayed away. Now almost no one accepts them any more!